I really wish that the Japanese game industry would release more of their games in the US. Every time I hear or read about a good Japanese RPG I find that it is being released for the Japanese Market only. Only a small handful get release here. It upsets me to no end. Does it upset the rest of you too?

I really wish that the Japanese game industry would release more of their games in the US.

I think it has more to do with the other regions than the "Japanese game industry". For example, some people I was talking with recently said that they wished that Nintendo of Japan would have released more of the Fire Emblem games here in North America. However, it's not up to Nintendo of Japan. In this case, Nintendo of America would have had to have taken an interest in bringing the series over here long ago. Then they would have had them localized and released.

So, as for me, if a game doesn't come over here, it doesn't really bother me. The single exception was the second Fire Emblem game for the Nintendo DS that they released in Japan. I was hoping that would get a state-side release.

There is not a large enough audience in the US for the Japanese titles to be sold, especially when competing with some of the biggest western titles. I don't get too hot and bothered when a Japanese title doesn't make it into other retailers, simply because I don't play them.

I was there in the Playstation era, when an unexpected surge of Japanese games got translated. That carried over into Playstation2 and the DS. As of this writing, the very last commercial DS games are getting released, and the lifespan of the PS2 is definitely over.

Where is the next system that has a worldwide audience of people willing to buy games? The PS3 is still doing decent sales in many nations, but how much longer will it last? With a lot of uncertainty about the Wii U, and only vague rumors about PS4 or the next XBox, it's not clear what the next console will be. It's entirely possible that PCs will succeed. In terms of portables, it's tough to be optimistic about the Vita right now. Maybe the 3DS will continue to succeed...

Remember, a lot of systems have region-specific popularity. The PSP was not a failure, but outside of Japan, not many people bought PSP games. Meanwhile, very few people in Japan bought the original Xbox, and the 360 is still not a big deal there.

In the end, it all comes down to money. If a company doesn't believe it can make a profit from localizing a game (especially on an unproven / unpopular system), then it won't get made. In a few instances, companies will make an equivalent game, or fans will translate it... but those instances are rare.

On a personal note, I lean towards upbeat and cute games. If there's a localized game that I care about, I'll usually buy it on day one. Though every now and then, I'll enjoy a western game (ask me how awesome Worms Armageddon and Simcity are). A decent number of my "DO WANT" games have almost no prospects of localization... but except for games with no important text, I'll usually wait to import until a thorough FAQ or a fan translation gets made.

Ehh... It doesn't bother me. But I know some Japanese and I import games. Importing games isn't exactly cheap but... if gaming is one of your major hobbies and there's games you really want, you just do that sometimes.